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Successes of the civil rights movement in the 1960s
Civil rights during the 1960s
Role of courts and states in civil rights movement
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Perhaps the most widely known peaceful protest is best exemplified through the civil rights marches. Civil rights marches cumulated on the March on Washington, where Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous ‘I Have a Dream Speech’. The March involved the ‘big six’ namely: CORE, SCLC, SNCC, The Sleeping Car Porters, NAACP and the National Urban League; with the aim to support the Civil Rights bill, creation of jobs for the unemployed and a further end to racial segregation in schools. However, much was done by all aspects of the Federal Government before, during and after the march with much internal conflict to boot. Before the march was to take place, segregationists such as Governor of Mississippi, Ross Barnett claimed that “the civil rights …show more content…
movement was a Communist conspiracy.” Claims such as these led to pressure for the FBI and the Justice Department to respond, responses soons revealed troubling details about inconsistency in approaching the march. While Attorney General Robert Kennedy, speaking on behalf of the Justice Department disregarded claims of Communism; Director Hoover however, rejected all notions that Communists had not infiltrated the march. The FBI also did not respond to death threats on King’s life preceding the march, instead focussing on the supposed Communist aspect of the march. A lack of cohesion would mean responses to the march failed in providing a directed and singular response, instead divisions were created and communication broke down. During the March on Washington, the FBI in a separate stance from the government, used provocateurs to upset the march by looking at opportunities to start fights, thus disrupting the non-violence aspect of the march, and with the hope of entirely discrediting the march.
The Presidential government in a less provocative role, organised to shut off power to the public address system if one of the speakers was too extreme in their speech. By controlling the content of speech, the government showed that they wanted a liberal civil rights march, one that would not seem radicalised and for their best interests. Both the FBI and the presidential government had separate aims in response to civil rights activism preceding the march, despite the disparity, both wanted to control the march in one form or another; thus further limiting the potential scope of the …show more content…
movement. A result of the march was to give impetus to civil rights legislation that was drafted by President Kennedy, but was not signed into law until President Lyndon B.
Johnson did so in 1964. The signing of the bill is feasibly one of the pinnacles of federal response to Civil Rights activism, the bill improved on Kennedy’s 1963 draft, and outlawed all forms of discrimination and ended unequal voter registration. Commentators on the matter of the 1964 Civil Rights Bill highlighted the far reaching legal importance of the bill, and the actions of pro-civil rights leaders in the senate which made the bill a possibility. Most importantly the Act gave increased legal protection in both social and political developments, which meant opposition to bills in the order of desegregation would be harder to pass; therefore harder to enforce. So the federal response to a culmination of civil rights activism set a landmark in democracy and showed the change in momentum, that would help the civil rights movement for the present and future. It also brought about greater unity between races and ethnicities, thus broadening the depth of the Civil Rights movement as a result of increased federal
response. Fourth Paragraph: Despite the success of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, violence against Civil Rights activists did not subside; as witnessed in Selma, Alabama. As a result of the events appropriately named by activists as ‘Bloody Sunday’, King called for a peaceful and nonviolent march for freedom. However, Federal District Court Judge Frank M. Johnson Jr. notified the attorney for the march, Fred Grey, that he intended to pursue a restraining order to prohibit the march. While this may seem a means of federal response limiting the Civil Rights movement, it was a blessing in disguise for the activists. By delaying the march, it allowed for Judge Johnson Jr. to push for federal protection for the marchers, a key aid when considering the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’. The peaceful actions of the Civil Rights activist at Selma resulted in President Johnson addressing congress on the issue on the 15 March, again federal response here proved a certain urgency and awareness of aiding Civil Rights activists in their movement. The following day Judge Johnson Jr. approved detailed march plans, he also prevented Governor Wallace and the Alabama Police from harassing the march. Which was combined with the now federally sanctioned Alabama National Guardsmen and the FBI protected the demonstrators throughout the march. What began as a voting rights campaign ended with President Johnson, in the presence of prominent leaders such as King, signing the Voting Rights Act in 1965. The Act provided further legal protection to those willing to vote, and overcame various legal barriers, which in addition to previous acts provided greater support to those oppressed by segregation. Proof of success also lay in King’s SCLC address, five days after the act was made into law. King attributed some of the success that they have achieved to the acts passed by the Federal Government, in turn recognising that the government were an important factor in the cause of Civil Rights. Federal response was not only limited to courts and marches, pivotal deaths of vital civil rights activists also sparked controversial responses. Federal response was not born only born out of necessity to the changing social climate but also from pro-civil rights activists within government.
The summer of 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson finally decided to sign the Civil Rights Act. This bill permitted people of all races and skin tones to be free from segregation. It promised the extension on voting rights, stronger equal employment opportunities, and guaranteed all Americans the right to use public facilities such as schools, restaurants and swimming pools (Politics or Principle 405). Many Americans questioned if the true decision behind President Johnson signing the civil rights act of 1964 was political or principle. I strongly believe Johnson signed it in a principle matter due to seeing different perspectives in living with prejudice, he would do anything to get the bill signed and he was finally free from the South's persuasive bonds.
When Johnson took over the Presidency following the assassination of Kennedy, he was determined to push through the Great Society agenda. President Johnson used the recent death as a reason to quickly enact laws for social reform in memory of Kennedy. Despite Republican opposition, Johnson was able to get the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 passed through congress,
During Johnson’s presidency, the federal government significantly extended its domestic responsibilities in attempt to transform the nation to what Johnson called the “Great Society,” in which poverty and racial intolerance ceased to exist. A previously unsurpassed amount of legislation was passed during this time; numerous laws were passed to protect the environment, keep consumers safe, reduce unfairness in education, improve housing in urban areas, provide more assistance to the elderly with health care, and other policies to improve welfare. Johnson called for a “War on Poverty,” and directed more funds to help the poor; government spending towards the poor increased from six billion in 1964 to twenty-four and a half billion dollars in 1968. Not only did Johnson improve the American economy and greatly reduce poverty, but he also advocated for racial equality; he managed to get Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation illegal in public accommodations/institutions. He also enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, prohibiting literacy tests in areas in which the amount of voters was under a certain number, which forced many southern states to allow more blacks to vote. As a result of his presidency, the poor and minorities enjoyed significant benefits from the more favorable legislations and more successful American legislation.
The 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his prophetic “I have a Dream Speech” attracted over 250,000 followers (Stewart, Smith, & Denton 2012, p. 12). The Civil Rights Movement had enormous momentum and was ready stay until justice was brought to every African-American in the United States of
President Andrew Johnson did not support it, but his veto was overridden. After the bill passed he refused to enforce the law in the South, causing little effect. On top of President Johnson’s lack of approval, it was undermined by anti-black organizations, and it helped women and Native Americans even less than it did for African Americans. Native Americans were excluded from being considered citizens even if they were born in the United States. Women gained the right to make and enforce contracts, purchase land, and more, but they were not given the right to vote for another fifty years. In theory this act should have resulted in better treatment of African American because it was making them separate but equal to white people, but in reality when it was put in action it did not follow through with its original intentions. Much like the in 1866, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was followed by incidents of resistance and violence, but despite the proceedings this act declared that all citizens despite race, sex, religion, or national origin were not to be discriminated against. Within the first few weeks, segregated establishments were open to black patrons, and Jim Crow laws were starting to end. The laws giving minorities their civil rights were being enforced. This bill not only encompassed African Americans, but it gave women more opportunities. By 1924 Native Americans
When the Government Stood Up For Civil Rights "All my life I've been sick and tired, and now I'm just sick and tired of being sick and tired. No one can honestly say Negroes are satisfied. We've only been patient, but how much more patience can we have?" Mrs. Hamer said these words in 1964, a month and a day before the historic Civil Rights Act of 1964 would be signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. She speaks for the mood of a race, a race that for centuries has built the nation of America, literally, with blood, sweat, and passive acceptance. She speaks for black Americans who have been second class citizens in their own home too long. She speaks for the race that would be patient no longer that would be accepting no more. Mrs. Hamer speaks for the African Americans who stood up in the 1950's and refused to sit down. They were the people who led the greatest movement in modern American history - the civil rights movement. It was a movement that would be more than a fragment of history, it was a movement that would become a measure of our lives (Shipler 12). When Martin Luther King Jr. stirred up the conscience of a nation, he gave voice to a long lain dormant morality in America, a voice that the government could no longer ignore. The government finally answered on July 2nd with the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is historically significant because it stands as a defining piece of civil rights legislation, being the first time the national government had declared equality for blacks. The civil rights movement was a campaign led by a number of organizations, supported by many individuals, to end discrimination and achieve equality for American Blacks (Mooney 776). The forefront of the struggle came during the 1950's and the 1960's when the feeling of oppression intensified and efforts increased to gain access to public accommodations, increased voting rights, and better educational opportunities (Mooney). Civil rights in America began with the adoption of the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments to the Constitution, which ended slavery and freed blacks in theory. The Civil Rights Acts of 1866 and 1875 were passed, guaranteeing the rights of blacks in the courts and access to public accommodation. These were, however, declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, who decided that the fourteenth did not protect blacks from violation of civil rights, by individuals.
He told the citizens that he was concerned about everyone, no matter of race, gender, or religion. Throughout the speech, Lyndon Johnson reminded the nation that he wanted to solve the problem with the nation together. He sees the racial discrimination not only as injustice, but is also denying America and dishonoring the people who gave their lives for the freedom of America (Johnson 2). By doing this, he persuaded the people with emotions and wanted them to support his idea of the civil rights, which promised everyone the right to register to vote without having any problems. It had finally led to an end to the illegal barriers under the 15th Amendment and allowed African Americans to vote without any knowledge or character test.
In 1866, the Civil Rights Bill was proposed in Congress. At the time, it was referred to as, “one of the most important bills ever presented to the House for its action.” (Foner 603). The Civil Rights Bill stated that each person born in the USA would be a citizen. It also proposed equality in the eyes of the law and would prohibit individual states from formulating legislature similar to the Black Codes. The ratification of the Civil Rights Bill would make it virtually illegal to discriminate against any person based on their race. In essence, the bill would enhance upon the Thirteenth Amendment that only abolished slavery; it did not make the African Americans equal to whites in the eyes of the law. In response to the bill, Johnson vetoed the Civil Rights Bill. He claimed that blacks should not be citizens and that Congress was trying to infringe on the States’ rights with the bill. Johnson strongly opposed large aspects of the Reconstruction due to his stubbornness and bigoted tendencies. As an immediate result of the executive action, Congress voted to override the veto and make the Civil Rights Bill law in
On August 28, 1963 more than 250,000 civil-rights supporters attended the March on Washington. Addressing the protesters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech. Profoundly, he proclaimed for a free nation of equality where all race would join together in the effort to achieve common ground. King stated his yearning for all colors to unite and be judged by character, not by race. African Americans would not be satisfied until their desire for freedom from persecution, bitterness, and hatred prevailed. Not only were the points in his speech powerful, but also the delivery he gave was so persuading and real that it changed the hearts of many people across America. By using four artificial proofs, mythos, logos, ethos, and pathos, Martin Luther King was able to open the eyes of people who were blinded by the color of skin.
How did the March on Washington’s planning and set up help influence so many people and grant them the rights they fought for? The year of 1963 had an extreme amount of racial tension and arguments about the rights of African Americans. The white people were vastly prejudiced towards the blacks and used all kinds of federalism. Several people began to stand up and show their opinions about the civil disobedience that the laws stood for. Many did this in a public manner, therefore they were arrested and sent to jail.
... middle of paper ... ... Despite the fact that the executive branch did quite a bit during the Civil Rights Movement to aid blacks and other minorities, more could have been done if not for events like the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis requiring the immediate attention of the president.
Racial unrest by the summer of 1963 was at its height since the Civil War. President Kennedy picked up the situation at the close of the Eisenhower years at a time when tensions were rapidly increasing. By the summer of 1963, however, after a series of violent demonstrations in the South, particularly in Birmingham, Alabama, President Kennedy pushed for a very strong civil rights bill in Congress. The first of its kind since the Civil War, this bill drastically called for the end of all segregation in all public places. In the eyes of the civil rights movement leaders, this bill was long over due.
One hundred years after the Emancipation Proclamation was written, African Americans were still fighting for equal rights in every day life. The first real success of this movement did not come until the Brown vs. Board of Education decision in 1954 which was followed by many boycotts and protests. The largest of these protests, the March on Washington, was held on August 28, 1963 “for jobs and freedom” (March on Washington 11). An incredible amount of preparation went into the event to accommodate the hundreds of thousands of people attending from around the nation and to deal with any potential incidents.
In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of the Brown v. the Board of Education. This was a very historical moment because their ruling eliminated, the "separate but equal " doctrine. Their ruling called for school integration, although most school were very slow in complying if they complied at all. The NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Color People, viewed this ruling as a success. The schools lack of the obedience toward this ruling, made it necessary for black activism to make the federal government implement the ruling, and possibly help close the racial gap that existed in places other than public schools. During one of the boycotts for equality, a leader emerged that would never be forgotten. Dr. Martin Luther King, who was leader of the Montgomery bus boycott, quickly became the spokesperson for racial equality. He believed that the civil rights movement would have more success if the black people would use non violent tactics. Some say he was adopting the style of Ghandi. The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, SCLC, was formed by King and other activist in 1957. They were a group of black ministers and activist who agreed to try and possibly help others see the effects of a non violent movement. Also following the strategies set by the SCLC, a group known as the SNCC or the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, began a string of sit-in and campaigns as the black population continued it's fight for equality. It was the undying efforts of the two groups that paved the way for the march on Washington. This march which drew a crowd of at least 200,000, was the place that Dr. King, gave his famous "dream speech." Both the SNCC, and the SCLC were victims of lots of threats and attempted attacks, yet they continued to pursue freedom in a non violent fashion. However near the late 60's they had another problem on their hands. There was a group of activist known as the Black Panthers who were not so eager to adopt the non-violent rule. The believed that the civil rights movement pushed by Dr. King and is non-violent campaign, which was meant to give blacks the right to vote and eliminate segregation, was not solving problems faced in poor black communities. This Black Panther group, stabled the term "black power", which was used a sort of uplifting for the black self esteem.
From the Boston Tea Party of 1773, the Civil Rights Movement and the Pro-Life Movement of the 1960s, to the Tea Party Movement and Occupy Wall Street Movement of current times, “those struggling against unjust laws have engaged in acts of deliberate, open disobedience to government power to uphold higher principles regarding human rights and social justice” (DeForrest, 1998, p. 653) through nonviolent protests. Perhaps the most well-known of the non-violent protests are those associated with the Civil Rights movement. The movement was felt across the south, yet Birmingham, Alabama was known for its unequal treatment of blacks and became the focus of the Civil Rights Movement. Under the leadership of Martin Luther King Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, African-Americans in Birmingham, began daily demonstrations and sit-ins to protest discrimination at lunch counters and in public facilities. These demonstrations were organized to draw attention to the injustices in the city. The demonstrations resulted in the arrest of protesters, including Martin Luther King. After King was arrested in Birmingham for taking part in a peaceful march to draw attention to the way that African-Americans were being treated there, their lack of voter rights, and the extreme injustice they faced in Alabama he wrote his now famous “Letter from Birmingham.”